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{ Jamie Ness has already experienced an Old Firm match and feels he can step in if Lee McCulloch fails to recover from an injury

Jamie Ness today appealed to Rangers boss Walter Smith to pitch him into the massive Scottish Cup showdown with Old Firm rivals Celtic.

Smith is facing an anxious wait to see if midfield talisman Lee McCulloch will be fit to play for the Gers in the match at Ibrox this Sunday.

McCulloch limped off in the first half of his side’s 1-0 win over Hearts at home last night, with a recurrence of a long-standing knee problem.

But Ness, who made his first- ever top-team start in the Old Firm game last month, reckons Rangers can cope without the Scotland internationalist against their city rivals.

And the hugely talented 19-year-old said: “I always want to play and hopefully the gaffer will think I have done enough to merit a place in the team. I have been surprised at how much I have played, but I have trained with the first-team boys regularly for almost two years now and that has helped.

“I know all of the boys and I know their games really well. That has served me well since I have come into the team.”

He added: “Lee is an important player for us and we will miss him if he doesn’t make it. But we have Maurice Edu and Steven Davis who can play in the middle.

“Steven has been playing wide right, but he can come back into the middle if need be. We have quite a lot of players who can play in that position if Lee isn’t available.”

Ness was encouraged by how Rangers played in their rearranged SPL fixture with third-placed Hearts last night, after McCulloch limped off.

The triumph, secured thanks to a Kyle Lafferty goal after just four minutes, moved the Scottish champions to within five points of Celtic at the top of the league table with two games in hand.

Meanwhile, Ness has praised controversial new signing El-Hadji Diouf – who came on for McCulloch just days after completing his loan move from Blackburn – for his performance on his Rangers debut.

He said: “It was difficult for him. I don’t think he expected to come on so early on. But, when he did, he showed some good touches. I think he will only get better and become a really good player for us.

“I think he could do a job for us in the Old Firm game on Sunday if he is selected.

“He has definitely got the quality so if he gets picked I am sure he will be able to make an impact.”

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Labels: Celtic, Evening, Glasgow, Times